10 super early Oscars contenders to watch (original) (raw)

Only three months out from Everything Everywhere All at Once's historic Best Picture victory and a crop of new contenders have already entered the awards multiverse to kick off another hunt for Oscars gold. Because we can't give Jennifer Lawrence another Academy Award simply for wearing flip-flops on a Cannes red carpet, here are 10 (super early) 2024 Oscars contenders to watch as the new season takes shape via film festivals, box office hits, and critical raves of the year so far.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie are 2024 Oscars contenders to watch. Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple TV +; Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images; Warner Bros. Pictures

2024 Oscars contender to watch for Best Picture: Killers of the Flower Moon

Some legends never miss, and that's the case when it comes to Martin Scorsese, who, over the last 20 years, has only directed one movie (Shutter Island) that hasn't received at least one Oscar nod. With the filmmaker's modern muse, Leonardo DiCaprio, and reigning Best Actor winner Brendan Fraser at the center of his new western-tinged thriller, expect signature Scorsese as the Hollywood vet continues pushing boundaries to new frontiers with this Apple streaming venture.

Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio in 'Killers of the Flower Moon'. Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple TV +

2024 Oscars contender to watch for Best Director: Barbie

Four years after her last movie, Greta Gerwig looks to continue her Oscars hot streak after directing two consecutive Best Picture nominees in Lady Bird and Little Women. Though Barbie is based on the beloved line of children's dolls, there's zero chance that Gerwig's take is a lifeless, generic commercial mannequin out of the box. With an ensemble cast (Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, America Ferrera, Issa Rae, Nicola Coughlan, Michael Cera, Will Ferrell) and dazzling technical elements on display in the film's first trailer, Barbie is shaping up to be one of the first across-the-board contenders of the summer season.

Margot Robbie in 'Barbie'. Warner Bros. Pictures

2024 Oscars contender to watch for Best Actor: Maestro

Bradley Cooper is music to the Academy's ears, with nine nominations across a wealth of categories, from Best Picture (as a producer) to the leading man in A Star Is Born and Silver Linings Playbook. Their affection for him has yet to crescendo into a victory, though that could change as he transforms body and soul to portray the late composer Leonard Bernstein in Maestro, a tale about his marriage to Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan), which many believed to be a cover-up for his sexuality. All other elements aside, it's an industry-tackles-industry project anchored by a straight actor portraying a queer man — otherwise known as pure Oscars gold.

Carey Mulligan and Bradley Cooper on the set of 'Maestro'. Netflix

2024 Oscars contender to watch for Best Actress: The Color Purple

Steven Spielberg's 1985 adaptation of Alice Walker's The Color Purple holds a distinct record as the most-nominated — yet undecorated — film in Oscars history, with 11 nods that didn't translate to a single victory. The film's upcoming revival, however, stands to course-correct more than just that project's awards narrative, as Spielberg (who returns to produce alongside OG star Oprah Winfrey) received criticism for helming a story about a predominantly Black cast of characters. Now, with Blitz Bazawule (and a wealth of recording industry talent including lead actress Fantasia Barrino and supporting performers Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Halle Bailey, H.E.R., and Ciara) driving the story, the revival could bring Purple to new heights on screen and the awards trail.

'The Color Purple' stars Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Halle Bailey, and Fantasia Barrino. Rodin Eckenroth/Getty; Bennett Raglin/Getty; Kevin Mazur/Getty; Jamie McCarthy/Getty

2024 Oscars contender to watch in technical categories: Oppenheimer

At this early stage, always assume that the most traditional Oscar fare is already on voters' radars — and it doesn't get much safer than a new Christopher Nolan spectacle, Oppenheimer, based on real-life historical events behind the man credited with creating the atomic bomb.

Cillian Murphy in 'Oppenheimer'. Universal Pictures

2024 Oscars contender to watch in Best Picture: Past Lives

Meet this year's dark horse contender that's currently bubbling under the surface of the main competition with red-hot audience reaction. Writer-director Celine Song's moving, Greta Lee-starring drama (about two friends who reconnect after 20 years) stands on solid ground at this early point, with enthusiastic, universal critical acclaim and strong word-of-mouth driving the project's box office on the specialty market — the same path Everything Everywhere All at Once took to awards glory last year.

Greta Lee and Teo Yoo in 'Past Lives'. Jon Pack/A24

2024 Oscars contender to watch in Best Actress: Priscilla

When deeply invested in the process of accepting that Jacob Elordi — yes, that Jacob Elordi — is playing Elvis Presley in a prestige drama, one must look beyond the chaos of Euphoria and put full faith in Sofia Coppola's vision for her take on the superstar singer's relationship with Priscilla Presley. The achy material practically begs for Coppola's soft, contemplative approach (see Lost in Translation, Marie-Antoinette, Somewhere, etc.), and it'll be interesting to see how The Craft: Legacy star Cailee Spaeny (in the titular role) plays off of Elordi while the HBO actor is filtered through Coppola's direction. With the added emotional impact of Lisa Marie Presley's heartbreaking death at the top of 2023, the film's relevance couldn't be timelier for a deep dive into the private life of a well-known couple.

Jacob Elordi; Sofia Coppola; Cailee Spaeny. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images; Arturo Holmes/FilmMagic; Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

2024 Oscars contender to watch in Best Actress: May December

Actresses honoring actresses by playing actresses in prestige cinema is the kind of self-congratulatory cycle the Hollywood awards trail loves to repeat time and time again. Plug Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, and Todd Haynes into the equation, and you've essentially made an Oscar appear out of thin air by default. The trio's latest project — about an actress researching a role about a married couple whose tabloid romance stunned the nation — received near universal acclaim at Cannes and was gobbled up by Netflix for the kind of money ($11 million) that says "we're not letting this movie not get awards attention" when the time is right.

Julianne Moore, director Todd Haynes, and Natalie Portman at the Cannes premiere of 'May December'. Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty

2024 Oscars contender to watch in Best Director: The Zone of Interest

It's been 10 years since Jonathan Glazer disturbed the hell out of everyone (and gave us that amazing meme of Scarlett Johansson falling on concrete) with his horrifying alien mind-bender Under the Skin, but the horrors of his next project are rooted in a much more painful reality. A24 is set to distribute Zone of Interest, a historical drama about Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss attempting to build an idyllic life for his family in a dream home next to the concentration camp. Shortly after its Cannes debut, Interest ranked among the best-reviewed films in Metacritic history and should keep that momentum going once it expands across the festival (and specialty theatrical) circuit come awards time.

'The Zone of Interest'. A24

2024 Oscars contender to watch in Best Production Design: Asteroid City

Even if you find Wes Anderson's twee storytelling a tad grating, there's no denying that the filmmaker's visionary style is top-notch among his peers. While his ensemble comedy about the oddball goings-on at a desert-based stargazing convention received less than enthusiastic reactions at Cannes, the project's aesthetic should be enough to find the film among the strongest technical contenders of the 2024 Oscar race.

Jason Schwartzman and Tom Hanks in 'Asteroid City'. Courtesy of Pop. 87 Productions/Focus Features

Other 2024 Oscars contenders to watch:

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